Wheat Belly?

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cuddingm
cuddingm Posts: 41 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have just started to read Wheat Belly and am curious to know who has tried it and what their results were? I'm considering trying it or even just cutting down my wheat/gluten consumption a bit. Any success stories or reasons not to do it? Any opinion is welcome I just want to know more about it.
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  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    Its been pretty well debunked (see http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com/2012/03/wheat-belly-busted.html; http://www.thebestgrains.com/the-truth-about-wheat-belly-and-fad-diets; and many others).

    Unless you have a specific intolerance or allergy to wheat and gluten, are diabetic, or have some other disorder, there isn't a real reason to cut out wheat, gluten, or carbs.

    If you are doing it for weight loss only, its best to instead follow a plan you know you can stick to forever.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    If you have a legitimate gluten intolerance, like Celiac Sprue, then yes, cut out gluten. If you're allergic to wheat, then stop eating it.

    Otherwise, why cut out wheat? It's a good source of complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, etc (if you eat whole wheat … if you use refined wheat, then not so much unless it's "enriched"). There is no real evidence that wheat is bad for you in any way (with the exceptions I already mentioned). It's propaganda. 10 years ago it was corn. In another decade, the scaremongering industry will have moved on to some other food.
  • tiffysinc
    tiffysinc Posts: 13
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    I went on a gluten free "diet" for about 3 months and I thought it worked wonders for my body. I didn't lose any weight because I wasn't trying to at the time (hence the diet in quotation marks) but it boosted my immune system and my body just felt lighter and cleaner on a whole. If it weren't so hard to maintain a gf diet while forced to eat college cafeteria food, I would have stuck with it.
    It was hard at first since I always felt hungry- and this is a very common occurrence when you go gf. I'm not sure if it's actual hunger or just the brain feeling deprived of something and causing the body to react that way. also sipped on tea a lot which really calmed my stomach. I found that adding a bit more protein and healthy fats helped along with sipping on tea.

    I wish I could be more helpful with this review but I wasn't able to stick with it long enough I suppose. But I would still recommend trying it for 3 days and, if you're able, continue so you can see how your body handles less gluten.
  • cuddingm
    cuddingm Posts: 41 Member
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    I went on a gluten free "diet" for about 3 months and I thought it worked wonders for my body. I didn't lose any weight because I wasn't trying to at the time (hence the diet in quotation marks) but it boosted my immune system and my body just felt lighter and cleaner on a whole. If it weren't so hard to maintain a gf diet while forced to eat college cafeteria food, I would have stuck with it.
    It was hard at first since I always felt hungry- and this is a very common occurrence when you go gf. I'm not sure if it's actual hunger or just the brain feeling deprived of something and causing the body to react that way. also sipped on tea a lot which really calmed my stomach. I found that adding a bit more protein and healthy fats helped along with sipping on tea.

    I wish I could be more helpful with this review but I wasn't able to stick with it long enough I suppose. But I would still recommend trying it for 3 days and, if you're able, continue so you can see how your body handles less gluten.


    In the book he talks about how you can feel lighter and healthier in general if you don't have a tolerance. Hearing that you did makes me want to try it. I have been told by my family doctor that it is also possible to have a tolerance and not know and the weight gain and tiredness after eating wheat is your body trying to tell you this. I think I am going to try at least cutting down and see what happens. I also want to do so because of all of the sugar that is in wheat products now. Sure the packaging says whole wheat, but the sugar content is horrible. Was looking the other day and one loaf of bread I was going to buy had 2 tbsp per two slices. WOW! Thank you for your input it really helped!
  • cuddingm
    cuddingm Posts: 41 Member
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    I do not have a gluten tolerance (that I know of) but am looking to loose more weight and to cut down on my sugar intake. I have researched and found that cutting down your wheat intake can help with the sugar intake because most whole wheat products are now made with a lot of sugar in them for taste.
  • kasiaj
    kasiaj Posts: 63 Member
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    I'm doing it right now. Although it's hard to be gluten free for me I decided not to eat anything with flour (so pretty much gluten free). If you read the book, wheat is in so much stuff (like gum or flavored coffee). It was too much of a pain in my bum to go completely gf and cutting out floor (all kinds) just seemed like the obvious choice for me. I've been doing it for a month and in the first two weeks I lost 5 lbs. More importantly though, My stomach has gotten way flatter, the loose skin after baby (she's 14 months) has gotten tighter, I feel so much better overall, I am not hungry all the time anymore, and my joint pain has improved by at least 75%. So my advice to you is to read the book and decide if it's worth for you to do it or not. I'm going to stick with it since it doesn't seem hard to me and I can do it as a lifestyle (I've always been more of a potato eater rather than bread).
  • cuddingm
    cuddingm Posts: 41 Member
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    If you have a legitimate gluten intolerance, like Celiac Sprue, then yes, cut out gluten. If you're allergic to wheat, then stop eating it.

    Otherwise, why cut out wheat? It's a good source of complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, etc (if you eat whole wheat … if you use refined wheat, then not so much unless it's "enriched"). There is no real evidence that wheat is bad for you in any way (with the exceptions I already mentioned). It's propaganda. 10 years ago it was corn. In another decade, the scaremongering industry will have moved on to some other food.

    I was informed by a nutritionist and my doctor to stay away from enriched wheat. They told me that they are just full of chemicals that can be harmful. And to especially stay away from enriched white bread. Just thought I'd let you know.
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
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    My husband lost 30 lbs when he went gluten free..not cause he has a gluten intolerance, but because so many of the foods containing gluten are processed, fiber poor and higher calorie.
  • cuddingm
    cuddingm Posts: 41 Member
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    That is why I am thinking of cutting down at least. I don't think I could go without completely but I want to cut down due to all the bad things in gluten products now. Thank you Bernadette606 for sharing. :)
  • Vivian06703188
    Vivian06703188 Posts: 310 Member
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    I eat clean and don't eat bread very often so there is not much of a need for me to go gluetin free. I don't get much because I don't eat out and eat whole foods. I say try it out and see how it works for you. It seems like the results are different for everyone. So test it for yourself. I think it is a expensive exchange personally.
  • jeanywren
    jeanywren Posts: 72 Member
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    My granddaughter inspired me to try the gluten free way. My Dr. thought it would be good as long as I did not go totally into it, e.g. soya sauce and other minuscule amounts. My blood sugar was starting to rise a bit, so in September we will see if there is a difference. The Dr. is pretty sure there will be. By not eating the obvious products, I find I am not eating the butter, cheese and things that I normally would put on bread. Toast with something not sweet was always my breakfast. I do not seem to be craving anything. It does help that I live alone but I do eat out a lot and make meals for friends all the time. I have found in logging my food, a drastic decrease in carbs and sodium. I am eating a lot more vegetables but trying not to eat too much fruit , also on the advice of the Dr., as that has a lot of natural sugar. So far since April I am down 21 pounds.
  • gogogo53
    gogogo53 Posts: 17 Member
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    0
  • bubblygoldfish
    bubblygoldfish Posts: 213 Member
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    My uncle did it. He lost some 20 lbs and has kept it off for the past 2 years.
  • ostrichagain
    ostrichagain Posts: 271 Member
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    My husband lost 30 lbs when he went gluten free..not cause he has a gluten intolerance, but because so many of the foods containing gluten are processed, fiber poor and higher calorie.

    When my grandmother was diagnosed with Celiac disease we ALL dropped all wheat products until we were screened. I was surprised that I didn't lose weight during that time. I rarely eat products that contain a lot of enriched white flour anyway. I love whole wheat. I agree, it's probably fiber and other nutrients in whole grains. I substituted other grain product for the wheat products we normally ate (rice, corn, nuts flours . . .)
  • cuddingm
    cuddingm Posts: 41 Member
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    My granddaughter inspired me to try the gluten free way. My Dr. thought it would be good as long as I did not go totally into it, e.g. soya sauce and other minuscule amounts. My blood sugar was starting to rise a bit, so in September we will see if there is a difference. The Dr. is pretty sure there will be. By not eating the obvious products, I find I am not eating the butter, cheese and things that I normally would put on bread. Toast with something not sweet was always my breakfast. I do not seem to be craving anything. It does help that I live alone but I do eat out a lot and make meals for friends all the time. I have found in logging my food, a drastic decrease in carbs and sodium. I am eating a lot more vegetables but trying not to eat too much fruit , also on the advice of the Dr., as that has a lot of natural sugar. So far since April I am down 21 pounds.

    Great job! Hope you see amazing results when you go to the Dr in Sept hope your blood sugar has gone down.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    I don't know about the book or what he has to say. I can tell that my joint pain in my knees was so bad I could barely make it through a 7 hour shift at work.. when I'd get home I'd have to put my legs up for several hours. I couldn't close my hands all the way. I had reflux. I decided to try a juice fast and I felt a MILLION times better. The joint pain in my knees was reduced so much that I was able to start walking after work.. my hands felt so great I was able to start crocheting again. So I added back regular wholesome foods into my diet and continued to juice to supplement.. The joint pain returned so I figured it must be something in my diet.. I blamed dairy. So i did an elimination diet and discovered that it WASN'T dairy making me feel so bad.. it was WHEAT! I was shocked and really disappointed.. oh how I loved wheat!

    So, I've been wheat free since December. My joint pain is nearly gone. I no longer have any reflux. My T3, T4and TSH levels are now normal without any synthroid. Just to be clear, I am not celiac.. my problem was not in my gut.. it was in my whole body. Also, I've had traces of gluten in my diet as I don't avoid gluten in the same way a celiac must.. I simply avoid the obvious sources of wheat.. but I don't worry about cross contamination exposure to wheat or gluten... for example, I'll make wheat tortillas for my boyfriend and then make my corn tortillas in the same kitchen without washing my hands or cleaning my tortilla pan in between. If I was celiac, I couldn't do that. Heck, I don't even know if it's the GLUTEN in the wheat that's the problem for me.... It could be some other part of the wheat for all I know.. I mean I haven't had Rye or Barley either, I suppose I could try introducing them to see how I feel.. but they're just not things I normally eat anyway.

    My advice would be, if you suspect that wheat may be a problem for you.... try doing an elimination diet to see if you feel better without it.
  • chera79
    chera79 Posts: 41 Member
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    I am also reading the book and have been wheat free for one week. I've lost 7 lbs since last Friday and feel so much more energy. And I swear I notice a difference in belly size. Of course, I've also taken this past week to get back on track with eating better and exercising more in general. But I still think going wheat free has made a huge difference.
  • cuddingm
    cuddingm Posts: 41 Member
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    I don't know about the book or what he has to say. I can tell that my joint pain in my knees was so bad I could barely make it through a 7 hour shift at work.. when I'd get home I'd have to put my legs up for several hours. I couldn't close my hands all the way. I had reflux. I decided to try a juice fast and I felt a MILLION times better. The joint pain in my knees was reduced so much that I was able to start walking after work.. my hands felt so great I was able to start crocheting again. So I added back regular wholesome foods into my diet and continued to juice to supplement.. The joint pain returned so I figured it must be something in my diet.. I blamed dairy. So i did an elimination diet and discovered that it WASN'T dairy making me feel so bad.. it was WHEAT! I was shocked and really disappointed.. oh how I loved wheat!

    So, I've been wheat free since December. My joint pain is nearly gone. I no longer have any reflux. My T3, T4and TSH levels are now normal without any synthroid. Just to be clear, I am not celiac.. my problem was not in my gut.. it was in my whole body. Also, I've had traces of gluten in my diet as I don't avoid gluten in the same way a celiac must.. I simply avoid the obvious sources of wheat.. but I don't worry about cross contamination exposure to wheat or gluten... for example, I'll make wheat tortillas for my boyfriend and then make my corn tortillas in the same kitchen without washing my hands or cleaning my tortilla pan in between. If I was celiac, I couldn't do that. Heck, I don't even know if it's the GLUTEN in the wheat that's the problem for me.... It could be some other part of the wheat for all I know.. I mean I haven't had Rye or Barley either, I suppose I could try introducing them to see how I feel.. but they're just not things I normally eat anyway.

    My advice would be, if you suspect that wheat may be a problem for you.... try doing an elimination diet to see if you feel better without it.

    Glad to hear that. I also have knee problems. My knee is so bad that I cannot do any form of physical activity without extreme pain. I have been on every prescription drug you can think of and nothing has helped. I have been going to physiotherapy for over 3 years and have had 2 procedures done to my knee. If this helped your joint pain that is a large reason for me to try it. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
  • veg_runner
    veg_runner Posts: 38 Member
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    http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/07/CTM_wheatbelly_17_480x360.jpg
    Picture of the author. Looks like whatever he promotes is bunk if he follows it. Pretty chubby fella. And yeah, wheat doesn't make you fat. Check out the middle east, the bread basket of the world. They are all skinny as heck. If anything, eat more wheat, unless you have gluten sensitivity.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Don't create a problem/handicap when you don't have to.

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